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January 09, 2017

Of the many things I’ve seen and heard this year, the following, in my view, are the best, with a few of the worst that really infuriated me.

TV

The Icelandic noir crime series Trapped was one of the better crime productions, not only for its creepy storyline but also for the wonderful, relentless, snow-swept locations.

Happy Valley. Series 2 was as magnificent as the first series, with consistently outstanding writing from Sally Wainwright and wonderful performances from the entire cast, especially Sarah Lancashire.

Fleabag. An amazingly revealing and original series from writer and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge. It is funny, edgy and very moving.

Going Forward. Another outstanding writer/comedian is Jo Brand, and Going Forward was funny and touching in equal measures.

Films

Joachim Lafosse’s, L'Économie du Couple (After Love). An intense observation of a marriage breakdown performed with utter commitment by the film’s two leads Bérénice Bejo and Cédric Kahn. More

20th Century Women is set in Santa Barbara in the late ’70s and focuses on Dorothea Fields (Annette Bening), a wonderfully eccentric single mother and divorcée living in a dilapidated but charmingly eclectic house where she lets two rooms to help make ends meet in order to bring up her son as a decent human being, with much angst and hilarity on the way. Written and directed by ex-graphic designer Mike Mills, whose earlier film Beginners was a delight too. More

I, Daniel Blake is Ken Loach’s precisely targeted indictment of our welfare state. It is Loach at his very best. More

Following A Single Man, director Tom Ford follows up with Nocturnal Animals and proves that he is to be taken seriously in this nearly perfect thriller. More

Manchester by the Sea. An incredibly powerful and moving story of loss, with an Oscar-deserving performance from lead Casey Affleck.

Ethel and Ernest. The story of Raymond Briggs’ young life. Despite it being an animated film, it pulls no punches. Humorous, beautiful, moving and tragic. Watch it

Product

Terence Woodgate's elegant Solid - Carrara marble table lamp.

Theatre

Yerma. The Young Vic restaging of Federico Garcia Lorca’s 1934 tragic masterpiece ‘Yerma’, reset in 21st-century hip London society. With two standout performances from Billie Piper (in the main role as ‘Yerma’) and Brendan Cowell as her husband. More

The Almeida’s stunningly brilliant production of Uncle Vanya. Imaginatively staged and directed by Robert Icke, with a wonderful cast headed by Paul Rhys.

Architecture

The Switch House Tate. One of the most inhospitable, dismal architectural experiences of 2016. Bleak and cold, with no attempt to create an uplifting experience for the visitor. More

Graphics/Branding

Two diabolical rebrands appeared on the scene. First was the hideous Addison Lee courier and car service. It could have been so good in the right hands.

British Steel introduced a shamefully embarrassing new identity, as opposed to reintroducing David Gentleman’s perfectly thought-out original.

But there was a welcomed and brave move in accepting that an earlier logo from the 1960s still works perfectly. Sean Perkins at North resurrected the baby from the bathwater of the ill-judged Co-operative rebrand of a few years ago.

Nat West's so-called "gentle evolution" of their logo by making what was originally simple complicated. It will be hardly noticed by most but will cost many millions to implement. Such is the insulting disregard that banks have for the public's view of them. More

This is graphic design at its very best: simple, meaningful, intelligent and witty. Created by Paula Scher at Pentagram NYC for The Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada.

Posters

2016 saw another group of inept ‘fine art’ collection of posters, this time for the Rio Olympics. Repeating the dreadful mistake of the 2012 UK Olympics with equally dreadful posters, again headed by Tracey Emin. An insult to all serious poster designers. More

Books

A Life in Letterpress. Alan Kitching’s life work in print. A doorstopper of a book, beautifully illustrated.

Nobrow has published the graphic novel, Audubon that centres on explorer John James Audubon’s ornithological quest across America during the 19th century. Written by Fabien Grolleau and sensitively illustrated by Jérémie Royer.

Advertising

Wales’ Christmas drink-driving campaign, by the Cardiff- based agency Bluegg, underlines the tragic loss of a loved one on Christmas Day.

Art

The Royal Academy of Arts, Abstract Expressionism exhibition was an absolute joy but rather too crowded.

Stamps

Agatha Christie: An intriguing series of six stamps designed by Jim Sutherland and Neil Webb, complete with hidden clues.

Florian Zeller’s award-winning stage play The Father, translated by Christopher Hampton for BBC Radio 3. Centred on a man disappearing into the world of dementia. With a moving performance from Kenneth Cranham.

March 09, 2016

Long before ‘Branding’ agencies got their hands on television companies the original BBC, on-screen identity, fondly referred to as the ‘bat’s wings’ was designed by one Abram Games and introduced in 1953 when there was still only one television channel.

Here is Games with his elaborate mechanical contraption featuring a spinning globe in the centre, surrounded by two spinning 'eyes'. Apparently shortly after it was filmed it broke down, luckily it wasn't needed again. The identity stayed in daily use on air until 1963.

You can see an immaculate animated recreation of the identity in all its glory here.

December 16, 2008

But it has
changed out of all recognition since those distant days when only two channels existed
– BBC or ITV. Now we have a plethora of stations all vying for our
attention, and of alarming similarity, spewing outa diet of celebrity,
reality, cookery or mega talent contests. Everything has to be delivered in
an overly hyped way. This latter fact was brought home to me when I attended
a creative Summer School earlier this year. The organisers ran an episode
of the 1970s series, ‘The Accent of Man’ featuring the virtually static
Jacob Bronoski talking to camera, against ever changing exotic
locations. There were no dramatized re-enactments or computer generated
graphics, just Bronowski speaking with passion and enthusiasm, on a subject
that he was thoroughly at home with. At the end of the viewing a spontaneous
debate broke out among the group about the merits of this kind of no nonsense
solo presentation. Some felt it was like watching paint dry, while others
appreciated the one to one dialog.

Other broadcasters from this era, with the
same kind of approach, were the historian, A.J.Taylor, Sir Kenneth Clark -
who fronted the epic series ‘Civilisation’ and Alistair Cook, with ‘The History
of America’. Comparing these
now cobwebby forms of presentation left me with the view that we are no
longer able to just listen to the eloquence of someone imparting their
knowledge. It has to be backed up by lavish CGI reconstructions leaving little
to our own imaginations. A great pity. And yes I know we've had Schama and Graham-Dixon strutting their stuff, but aren't they acting up the 'personality' aspect a little too much?

Don’t get me wrong much was lacking in
those early productions, cinematography, editing and the presenter's often
bizarre fashion sense. Shortly before
his death the artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman made a feature film called
‘Blue’ unique because it was basically a sound scape, all you were presented
with was a constant blue light, projected on to a cinema screen. What it did
was awaken your imagination to possibilities way beyond the vision of just a
single director. So the experience was different for every member of the
audience.

Meanwhile back in those black and white days of Television the
BBC had gaps between programmes which they filled with ‘intervals’. I assume
this was to give time to move things around the studio, as so much was live at
the time. These interludes would last for 5 minutes or so with featuring gently reassuring music-accompanying images of a nostalgic Britain. One in particular,
a cornfield with a looming windmill in full flight
had an almost Lynchian eeriness about it, that, as a boy, I always found disquieting.
Have a look for yourself here. And you can see
all of the others here.

If we stop for one moment to think about what makes for exceptional graphics it normally comes down to a great idea wrapped in simplicity. It is a pity that some many creative people working in television can't rediscover that simple truth.